Hi GZ - Great suggestions here!
One thing I would like to share about what was true for me....my drinking created a lot of useless drama and anxiety in my life....I was an evenings- only drinker, and despite the many other stupid, reckless things I did while drinking, I never drove drunk - so I would find myself pacing restlessly waiting for one of the kids activities to be over so I could get home and get a drink. Or I would be agitated knowing that I had to go out in the evening instead of staying home drinking.
So, when I quit, I started focusing on the PEACE that quitting brought to even the simplest things. If I needed to run out unexpectedly in the evening, it was a new sense of freedom to just be able to grab the truck keys and go. It was like being released from a sort of self-induced agorophobia!
Of course, most of my "running out in the evening" consists of picking up kids or dropping them off, etc., nothing much more exciting than that for me to share , and I still almost 3 years later am grateful for the PEACE of not being drunk.
The sky's the limit as to what you can do and where you can go without alcohol in you life! And don't forget to notice how peaceful you'll feel.
Best wishes,
Jomey